As a Member from County Donegal, I seek a direct train service from Dublin to Derry, which potentially might continue into County Donegal. I do so because neither air access nor the welcome improvements to road access are sufficient and rail access is also required. While it might have been difficult to achieve this in the past, this is no longer the case. Formerly, trains from Derry terminated in Belfast's York Street station while those from Dublin terminated in Belfast Central Station. However, as there is now a bridge linking the stations, there is no physical reason to prevent a direct Dublin to Derry train service.
I accompanied the Into the West rail lobby to Stormont last Thursday and the First Minister, Ian Paisley, was also present. He spoke lovingly about his train trips in the past from Ballymena to Portrush. I wish to underline the issue from the perspective of Into the West's founder, Eamonn McCann, who is well known in Derry. A decision by the Department for Regional Development on whether to approve a railway spending plan that does not include money for the Coleraine to Derry route in the second investment strategy for Northern Ireland is now imminent. The lobby group seeks a plan that does include money for the Coleraine to Derry line to prevent it from falling even further behind the rest of the network. If this is not achieved now, the upgrade of the line will be postponed until 2010 or 2012, by which time it will be too late.
There is a long-term vision for a modern all-Ireland rail network that will serve the north west as well as other regions. However, unless the immediate demand is achieved, such long-term aspirations will become academic. The 55 miles of train track from Ballymena to Derry is now the worst section of track in Ireland. The track's deterioration has been accelerated due to the tonnage of the new 150-tonne trains. While one department complains the new trains are damaging the track, the mechanical department complains that the poor state of the track is damaging the new trains and decreasing their longevity.
The Into the West group has suggested the solution to both problems would be to weld the track and remove the outdated jointed track. There are three densities of rail, namely, 70 lbs., 90 lbs. and 113 lbs., which are calculated on a weight per yard basis. The existing jointed rail track is mostly 70 lbs. and has a shorter lifespan than the 113 lbs. rail. Depending on funding, the company has plans to weld the existing 70 lbs. rail under a life extension plan and asserts this should prolong its life. However, the Into the West group believes this to be a false economy. An expenditure of £60 million now would deliver 98 mph track, which would reduce journey times from Derry to Belfast to 90 minutes. This would get rid of the aforementioned false economy.
It was announced last Thursday that £12 million will be spent on the Ballymena to Coleraine section of the line. While undoubtedly this will help improve a section of the track, the investment that is badly needed and which has not been forthcoming is that from Coleraine to Derry. The provision of passing lanes and the upgrade of the existing track are required.
One might ask what this has to do with us in the South. This line serves the north west as much as would any other form of access. People from the region continually call out for more investment in tourism and jobs. The mantra when buying a house is, "location, location, location" and when trying to sell a region, it is, "access, access, access". New trains have been deployed on this route and usage has increased by 60% since 2001. There is an economic argument for investing in this line. The State has taken a role in respect of the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise train service. Tonight, I seek clarification as to whether there is an impediment to designating it as the Dublin to Derry service instead. If the State was able to secure European funding for the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise train service, there is no reason not to rename the route the Dublin to Derry service. One could make use of the existing track, the new trains that run on it and the real economy. Moreover, one could cite the argument regarding the false economies involved in doing patch-up jobs to which one must revert continually.
I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, who is not present this evening, to consider the findings of the recent report on this matter. While there have been decades of neglect, it is being reversed and there have been line speed upgrades and more trains as a result of providing passing points. It would be useful if such improvements could effected on the Derry to Belfast route and on the section between Derry and Coleraine in particular, as there will be an investment of £12 million from Coleraine to Ballymena.
The Minister has his own connections to this region and while I do not suggest he should take a personal interest in this matter, it is highly important to the people of the north west. I hope the work that has been done on the western rail corridor in respect of bringing rail services to County Donegal will ultimately yield a high quality all-Ireland rail service. However, my immediate concern pertains to the issue under discussion. I can discern no reason to prevent the establishment of a Dublin to Derry train service. The Minister of State should either give me an answer this evening or ensure that the Minister for Transport responds with reasons the State cannot make such an investment and designate it a Dublin to Derry, rather than a Dublin to Belfast, service, which would provide the people of the north west with a service they badly need and deserve.
